New Media

Meet The 6 Black Winners Of 2017 MacArthur "Genius" Grant That Are Helping To Change The World As We Know It

We love to see Black Excellence being rewarded.

| October 11 2017,

12:50 am

The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation has announced the winners of this year's fellowship, better known as the "genius" grant. 24 fellows were chosen, whose professions range immensely across the board. There are historians and musicians, computer scientists and social activists, writers, and architects.

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Now, what they all have in common is that each of the recipients has been selected for having "shown extraordinary originality and dedication in their creative pursuits and a marked capacity for self-direction" — and each will receive a $625,000 award from the foundation "as an investment in their potential," paid out over five years with no strings attached.

This year, there were six black recipients of the amazing award. If you're in need of a little black excellence, make sure to check out these winners. They're making amazing and courageous contributions to society.

"Dawoud Bey is using an expansive approach that creates new spaces of engagement within cultural institutions, making them more meaningful to and representative of the communities in which they are situated."

"Tyshawn Sorey is assimilating and transforming ideas from a broad spectrum of musical idioms and defying distinctions between genres, composition, and improvisation in a singular expression of contemporary music."

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